Odisha: Patnaik seeks reports from BJD district observers on urban, rural poll performance

Bhubaneswar, Apr 24 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked leaders of the ruling BJD not to be complacent over its spectacular performance in the recently concluded rural and urban elections and sought reports on why his party had lost around 10 per cent of seats in the polls, state ministers said on Sunday.

The BJD won 90 per cent of seats in panchayats and 89 per cent in urban polls.

Patnaik held one-to-one meetings with the BJD's district observers and discussed the party's performance in the elections to panchayats and urban local bodies in February and March.

"We had a one-to-one discussion with the chief minister. He wanted to know how to strengthen the party at the grassroots. The BJD president has asked to submit a detailed report on the party's position in districts within 10 days," state minister and BJD's Nayagarh observer Padmanabh Behera said.

Party's Balasore observer P K Deb and Kendrapara's Debashis Samantray also echoed Behera.

Patnaik wanted to know the "strength and weakness of the party in all the districts to prepare strategies for the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections", the minister said.

Patnaik may "reorganise BJD based on the observers' reports and go for a reshuffling of his cabinet," a party source said.

The BJD had secured 114 of 147 assembly constituencies in the 2019 state polls but its Lok Sabha seat count fell to 12.

The assembly polls and the LS elections were held simultaneously in 2019.

The opposition BJP, which had just won one Lok Sabha seat from Odisha in the 2014 elections, got eight on the last occasion.

The ruling BJD won 20 of 21 Lok Sabha seats from Odisha, eight years ago. "Patnaik told party leaders to ensure that the BJD wins all the 21 LS seats to make Odisha's voice strong in the Delhi 'Durbar'," the source said.

The CM had on Saturday met party observers of Koraput, Malkangiri, Kendrapada, Balasore, Nayagarh, Angul, Nabarangpur, Dhenkanal, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Kandhamal, Sonepur, Gajapati, Rayagada and Jagatsinghpur at Naveen Niwas.

He will meet other party observers in phases till Monday as the party has 33 organisational districts.

Patnaik, as the BJD president, usually holds meetings with the party's district observers after each election and asks them to prepare for the next poll, Samantray claimed.

He had earlier asked the ministers to submit their performance reports of their respective departments. PTI AAM BDC BDC